János Thurzó

János Thurzó was a Hungarian entrepreneur and mining engineer who belonged to a Hungarian noble family which made its fortune in copper mining. The founder of the family fortune, János settled in Krakow where he emerged as a successful trader and participated in the public life of the community. From 1495 he formed a partnership with the famous Fugger family and started to exploit silver and copper mines in Hungary through Hungarian Trade Company (Ungarischer Handel). According to some experts, it was the first capitalist company in Europe. The first foundry to separate copper from silver János established in the region of Banska Bystrica. Eventually, the company became the largest producer of copper in the world and had warehouses and agencies all over the Europe. With the profits the Thurzo family bought lands in the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary (today Slovakia) and owned several castles, as well as land in the other parts of the Kingdom of Hungary and Germany.